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Abstract

Electronic personal health records (PHRs) have significant promise in helping to empower patients and consumers in general to take more responsibility for managing their own health, with lower costs for the healthcare system. However, few empirical studies have been undertaken to understand patient perspectives on the benefits of PHRs. This article describes an empirical study that proposes a theoretical model on PHR adoption and validates that model using the views of 389 Canadian patients. We found that perceived usefulness, security, privacy, and trust in PHRs, together with personal information technology innovativeness, are significant motivators of adoption, while computer anxiety may be an important deterrent. Overall, this study is a step toward understanding patient views that are key to the success of electronic PHRs. Growing adoption of this novel e-health approach is of importance as it may improve benefits for both patients and society.